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Forum On Muslim Civil Rights Held In Chicago
by Ayub Khan
CHICAGO (IslamOnline) – The use of secret evidence has been used to implicate Muslims in the U.S. at the slightest pretext, stated the Muslim Americans for Civil Rights & Legal Defense who organized a symposium entitled, "Assault on Muslim Civil Rights" at the Islamic Foundation in Villa Park, Illinois, Sunday evening.
The organization stated that hard as it is to believe it remains a fact that in the U.S., home of the free and the brave, Muslims are being target on trumped up charges bringing back memories of the McCarthy era.
The educational symposium, second in a series of similar planned events, was attended by over one hundred people. Attorney Abdullah Michelle, in his welcoming remarks, said that the purpose of the event was to raise understanding concerning Muslim rights, the jeopardization of these rights and provide solutions to the situation.
El-Hajj Mauri Salaakhan, civil rights activist and founder of the Peace and Justice Foundation, said that it is incumbent on Muslims to fight for their rights that are increasingly violated in U.S.
Explaining his position, Salaakhan cited the Prophetic hadith that says when you see an evil action you have to change it with your hand or tongue, or at least detest it in your heart.
He said that we cannot be ritualistic Muslims since this will make us the part of the problem and not the solution, and that the enemies of Islam want us to be ritualistic Muslims.
Salaakhan said he accidentally stumbled over a volume of The British War Journal that carried a story about a British officer who heard the Azaan for the first time. He asked a native whether the Azaan constitutes any threat to Her Majesty's Government. When the native responded that it did not, the officer exclaimed, "Then let him pray as much as he wants."
Saalakhan stated that Muslims have to wage a jihad for the hearts and minds of the people of this country. He said that most non-Muslims in the U.S. do not know about injustices committed against Muslims, and that it is our duty to get the message across.
Attorney Kamran Memon elaborated the legal aspects of discrimination and said that employers cannot discriminate against an individual on the basis of race, religion, sex or ethnicity. Employers have to let you pray, wear hijab, and/or sport a beard.
He urged the audience to contact the hotline 1-800-522-FAIR if faced with any discrimination. He said that in such an event you should:
1) Contact a civil rights lawyer and file a complain within 6 months of an event deemed discrimibnatory
2) Contact the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), and
3) Direct evidence of discrimination is not required, indirect evidence is enough.
Memon cited several cases of discrimination including that of a Muslim man suing UPS because he was discriminated against for his beard, and a hijab-wearing cashier at a gas station who was fired. Motorola was also sued for not allowing two Muslim employees to attend Friday prayers.
David Cole, Professor of Law and author from Georgetown University, said that he finds himself in time warp because he finds repetition of the same mistakes committing during the McCarthy era by the government.
Cole said that these actions corroded public trust, elevated paranoia and created a hostile atmosphere. He has so far successfully represented 13 aliens who have been arrested on secret evidence charges. Presently, only one remains in jail.
He said that guilt-by-association is the most severest of injustices. Cole reminded the audience that no right is guaranteed unless we are willing to fight for it.
Cole ended his address with a quote from a 1,000-page FBI report on alleged members of the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine in New York, which read, "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
He said the quote is originally from Thomas Jefferson and that it holds two different meanings: one for the FBI and another for Muslims. For the FBI it means “eternal surveillance”, and for everyone else it means to be constantly aware of, and guard, civil rights.
The addresses were followed by a lively question and answer session in which activist Abdul Malik Mujahid and Jewish attorney Max Pearce also participated. Pearce states that he has represented many Muslims in discrimination cases.
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